


A Couple of Fools

by SimpleCrow



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26326495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimpleCrow/pseuds/SimpleCrow
Summary: Tiso makes his way to the Colosseum of Fools, ready for battle. He soon finds he's met God Tamer, and may find something more than combat in his life...Maybe...
Relationships: God Tamer & Tiso (Hollow Knight), God Tamer/Tiso (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 34





	1. Calm before the trial

The colosseum. It beckoned me. Called to me. No, it was practically screaming at me to enter it, screaming, even louder than the crowd of chanting bugs, all sat down to watch others tear each other limb from limb. All for the sake...of glory. For the thrill! For the sake of overcoming the odds, for the sake of being crowned the champion, over all the fools below you! That, was my goal. I would become the champion of the colosseum. My one purpose, my destiny. Yes, it all made sense now. All my training had lead up to this.

My name, was Tiso. And I was certain, I would soon be, a champion. 

After setting foot into this place, being greeted by a tiny bug, I oh so desperately wanted to start my first trial. I could feel it, calling my name, as soon all the other people in this mighty stadium would too! But, starting battle so hastily is certainly something only the completely foolish do. So after being pointed in the direction of a resting chamber that sat below my soon to be battlegrounds, I decided to down there before fighting, just to make sure I was absolutely, without a doubt, prepared for battle.

However, as I began to head down towards the pit, the little insect in chains stopped me for a moment.

"W-wait! Sir, it seems like you haven't got a nail! There aren't any spares down there, and I'm certain that no bug in there would give theirs up! You could just go outside and take one, I'm sure there's plenty lying aro-,"

"I don't fight with a nail." I cut him off, turning back to the creature, shooting him a smirk of confidence, and holding my shield towards him.

The bug seemed at a complete loss for words. As he sat in his chains, he gave me a confused glance, unsure if I were more foolish than he. 

I let out a silent snicker, as the poor creature looked at me like entering that arena was about as safe as trying to breathe underwater. To be quite honest, I was used to getting that reaction from people, and it never failed to amuse me. But I didn't dwell on it for too long, as something more important was afoot.

With the cheers of the crowd echoing through this new exciting world, and my dreams within my sight, I took a dive into the pit, for one, final rest…

The pit itself was absolutely brimming with fellow warriors! Knights and gladiators of all kinds of different shapes and sizes. They sat murmuring to each other, as all their voices seemed to blend together. Despite the rather diverse cast of bugs here, they all seemed very similar too. Perhaps it was just the fact they all shared a similar goal? I suppose that might be true, but I could feel it was something...more than that. As if everyone here had been hardened by battle somehow. Like fighting here had practically become their only way of life, and yet they knew they would never even best the first trial. Strange, what you can gather from just passing by people mid conversation. 

Well, one voice certainly stuck out though. And not in a good way. They were loud, constantly running their mouth with their only purpose seemingly being to annoy everyone else in the room. I soon found the source of this voice trapped in a cage, while I scoured the area for a place to sit down, as it seemed every seat was taken.

The figure reminded me of that knight I saw in that fading town, and by the blue lake. I might have even mistook this person for that knight, that is, if they weren't running their mouth so much. Since it just occurred to me that the knight I had seen on my journey here never said a single word to me...They were a very strange character indeed…

This 'knight' in the cage didn't seem anything like that other knight I had seen previously though, so I quickly realised that this resemblance was purely coincidental. After entertaining myself for a bit, listening to his outlandish tales, I began to realise a lot of the faces of the various warriors around here were muttering to each other like before, but this time a lot of them stared at me as they did so. So, they were more than likely talking about me. Examining me. I even heard some laughs as some of these warriors looked at the fact I had brought only my trusty shield. I realised I should probably sit down, as standing up with my brightly colored hood may have attracted more attention than I thought. Negative attention. I scoured the area, searching for a seat of some kind that had not been taken already. 

After pushing past a few slugs in heavy armour, I had finally found a bench, one made of a glistening metal, a very nice looking seat, and it made me wonder why it wasn't taken. In fact, everyone down here appeared to be actively avoiding the seat, as no one even stood near it! Well, this was certainly a blessing. I decided to make the most of this luxury and sit on the side of this bench as I inspected my shield, looking down at the hard rock floor beneath my feet, while the cheering of the crowd could be heard from above.

As I looked at my weapon, going over strategies and wondering just what they would test me with in that area, began to realise that most of the talking in this pit had instead become whispers, all while everyone stared at me, as I sat down on the bench. Strangely enough, from what I could gather anyway, most of these whispers weren't malicious in nature. In fact, their frantic, fast paced nature almost made it seem like these bugs were...concerned? But why? All I did was sit down in the only barren seat, what was there to be concerned about?

A thundering applause could be heard from the crowd above, which gradually came to a close. It seemed as though the trial that had been going on up there had ended. That's when I heard...something...something incredibly large. It's gigantic footsteps seemed to shake the ceiling above everyone, as I could tell that whatever it was, was getting closer and closer to the right of the arena upstairs. Looking to the right down here, I noticed a second way up to the colosseum. So, whoever this gigantic warrior was, they seemed to be heading over there, and coming down here!

I felt a pinch of sweat form on my forehead, which I quickly wiped from my face before anyone could notice. Had I ever been in the presence of a warrior so large, that their very movement was enough to shake the ground below them? I didn't think so, I had only heard of knights like that from the legends of this kingdom, from an age long gone. I tried to stay calm however. I was a warrior myself, that's why I was here. I wouldn't let some guy bigger than me push me around! Never! If anything, they'd be sorry when they meet me in that arena, then I'LL be the one doing the pushing!

Invigorated by a sudden burst of confidence, I stood my ground. Or-, sat, my ground. This time leaning back on the bench a little, wrapping my arm around the back of it, while I continued to inspect my shield, pretending not to care about whoever would come down here, despite the fact I was keeping one eye fixed firmly on the right of the room, wondering what this great gladiator would look like.

A gigantic crash shook the room, as it didn't take long for this great warri-

Wait a minute, this wasn't a warrior! It was a four legged beast! A gigantic hulking monster, that was clearly infected with that awful disease going around Hallownest! Why did that Lord Fool I'd heard about even let this THING in here!? And why wasn't it in some kind of cage!? 

A million thoughts whirred through my mind, as I began to realise that this bug I couldn't identify (I feel like monster is a more suitable word), was heading right for me! It began to lumber towards the bench, as the fighters around the creature began to disperse, not standing their ground or trying to fight it off at all. It seemed like the only option was to run from this thing, considering it likely tore apart whoever was unlucky enough to face it up there. 

No. No, I'm stronger than these mere fools! I'll show them all. I decided I would be the one bug in this colosseum to show even a hint of strength, and decided to stay put. Surely, it wasn't aiming for me, right? It was very likely to just walk right past me, since after all, why would it try to attack me specifically? I'd never seen it before, and this thing was far too large to even think about sitting down! That is, if it could think at all. It was a hulking beast after all, and being infected certainly hurt it's brain more than anyone in here could ever hope to.

However, as I saw that this hulking behemoth was in fact heading towards me, staring at me even, with those soulless, orange eyes. As it got closer and closer, I heard it's grunts and growls, as I hoped with every part of my being it wouldn't spew any of that infection at me. 

Stay calm Tiso...it's...it's almost right in front of you, just...don't...move...don't...move...d-

"Hey you!" A hardened, slightly muffled and feminine(????) voice shouted to me as I stared at my shield, pretending not to notice the creature.

I moved my head up from my shield to the beast, even if both of my eyes were very much already fixated on it before. 

It was right in front of me now. It's orange breath seemed to appear in front of it's strange, tenticle-like mouth. Definetly a result of the infection. Still, that was certainly NOT the voice I anticipated coming out of a...whatever this was.

"S-,*ahem* so, y-you can...talk?" I asked it, quite surprised such a thing was capable of speech.

"Not my pet, fool! Up here!" The voice spoke again with a muffled laugh, which I saw was very much not coming from the thing in front of me.

I looked up above the creature, to find myself completely speechless. There, sat atop this hulking monstrosity, was...a bug. More specifically, a much smaller bug. One probably around my height, wielding a gigantic spiked nail in one hand, with the other attached firmly onto this creature's shell, while the bug lay on top of it, looking down at me through a closed red helmet.

I noticed the bug was still laughing a little as she slid off of her 'pet', revealing herself to me. She was noticeably, very athletic, and I then saw she wasn't really my height. If I'm honest, she even stood over me a little. The bug placed her hand on the side of the monster before us both, leaning on it like it was nothing, while she looked at me, sat down on the bench. I could tell this girl practically raidated confidence, so much so (and I would never actually admit this) it was...quite intimidating. Especially since she arrived, the room had gone dead silent.

"That's my seat, fool." The ant told me, although it seemed more like an order, as she looked down at me.

I decided I would match her confidence with my own. Her beast didn't scare me...at least, she didn't know it did. So, I leaned back in the chair once again, shooting a quick glance over to the empty space beside me.

"I'll have you know I was here first. Besides, there's plenty of space anyway. That is, unless you need the bench for your pet. I'm not moving." I told her, looking away from her during my reply, just to sell the fact she wasn't bothering me. 

As I looked away, I noticed the other bugs in the room suddenly visibly showing their concern for me. As they began to shake their heads and wave their hands in front of their chests as if to tell me to just suck it up and move. But, I paid them no heed, before turning back to the woman in front of me.

The ant stepped forward after hearing what I had to say, leaning down to me, to the point where she was almost poking me in the face with the pointed front of her helmet. I could actually see her eyes from the four holes in her helmet she was so close, her white eyes gazing into mine, inspecting me, as if she were trying to stare into my very soul.

She stood there for a solid few minutes, unflinching, as was I, while I feared sweat may start to appear on my face again, as it seemed not a sound was heard through the entire colosseum during this time. Even that one apparent knight in the cage, who wouldn't stop running his mouth had ceased his words, with everyone's attention focused on the two of us.

After a while, I saw her slowly, slowly begin to move the hand clutching her weapon, as she placed it carefully on the side of the bench, making sure it was balanced. Then, she slowly moved away from me...and jumped onto the empty space at my side. 

I, and presumably everyone down here, including the monster she had brought with her, was clearly surprised at this. If I'm honest, I at the very least expected some kind of fight. But it was clear to me that everyone around us expected a blood bath. 

The red figure now at my side clicked her fingers to the right of her, which seemed like a command, as the infected behemoth that hadn't stopped staring at me this whole time, finally also moved away from me, and walked over to the side of the bench, and lay down. The ant warrior gave it a pat as it did so. 

The other bugs down here were completely perplexed at this, but, slowly began to return to their conversations, as that knight in the cage stood there talking to no one, all while everyone here kept a close eye on the two bugs sat on the bench, in a not so discreet way.

After a couple more minutes of me wondering what in Hallownest just happened, the red armoured ant to my side spoke up, as she stroked the monster-like bug at her side. 

"So, what do you go by? I haven't seen you here before. Heh, explains why you sat here." She spoke, a lot more playfully than before, even if she still had quite a rough sounding voice, and the helmet probably didn't help with that.

I turned to her, looking her up and down. She seemed a lot more casual and less intimidating than before. She sat with one leg over the other, looking at me with one hand on the creature, and her arm hung over the back of the bench.

"My name is Tiso, and no, I've not been to this place before. I'm actually not from Hallownest either." I explained, trying to match that confidence that she somehow continued to ooze.

Her antenna twitched a little, sticking out of her helmet. As she looked at me, and despite not being able to see her face, something about the way she spoke made me able to tell she had an eyebrow raised at me.

"Tiso...the...what?" She asked, seemingly expecting...something after that.

"What do you mean?" I questioned her, causing the bug to let out a snicker.

"You know, your title? All the fools here have one. Most of them, self proclaimed. Especially 'Zote the mighty', that one is definitely self proclaimed. Pft, a nail made of shellwood…," she scoffed, pointing at the small bug in the cage that wouldn't be quiet for even a second, "anyway, what's your title? Or, does Tiso have some kind of meaning I'm just forgetting?" The ant explained to me, further inquiring about what I choose to call myself.

However, I merely shook my head at this, not taking my eyes off her. She seemed to have a large amount of charisma to her, one that made her impossible to look away from.

"I have no title. I'm Tiso. I let my battling skill speak for itself. I don't need a fancy name to go with it." I explained with a shrug, again, keeping my eyes on her.

Her antenna jolted upwards, ever so slightly, as I explained myself.

"A warrior without a title? Coming here? That's a surprise. Well, while I do respect your humbleness, Tiso th-...Tiso, I can't deny, these fancy names are part of the fun of the fight. You are putting on a show for the crowd after all." She explained, taking one hand away from her beast and placing it behind her head along with the other, looking up at the ceiling.

I shrugged yet again, looking around me at my fellow warriors, as they all seemed completely perplexed at the fact I was actually having a conversation with her.

"I suppose you're right. Maybe I'll consider it...hm, well, what's yours then?" I questioned her this time, after I realised I hadn't gotten anything like a name from her yet. And I had zero doubt that she had one of those fancy titles too.

The bug turned her head from one of the cages hung up on the ceiling, back to me.

"I, am the God Tamer." God Tamer told me, and I could practically feel the weight of this name as she spoke it. It seemed to perfectly fit her, and I hadn't even seen her fight yet!

God Tamer continued to look at me, or more specifically, the shield attached to my arm, as if evaluating it. After the bug was done with that, she looked around my feet once again, then behind my back, before leaning behind the bench, as if looking for something. I took note of one of her antenna moving downwards, while the other moved up, as if to represent a look of confusion through the helmet, rather than simply taking it off. Which she hadn't done for whatever reason.

"Where's your nail? Are you like one of those freaks from the city that casts spells or something?" She inquired, as she saw the only physical thing I had to protect myself, was my shield. 

Once again though, I shook my head.

"No, I'm not. I don't have a nail, or spells, or anything like that. All I need is my shield, and my own skill." I explained to the Tamer, holding my shield in front of my chest and nocking my fist against it, to emphasise my point.

That, caused her to burst out laughing, so much so it made her pet look over at her, confused as to what caused this reaction.

"What's so funny?" I questioned her, as it was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

After more chuckling, she managed to get out some words.

"Nobody comes here without a NAIL at the very least! You can't cast spells either! I mean, I have this big guy with me, but I carry my own weapon too! What kind of death wish do you have to come here with no means of attack? Are you insane? Hahahahaha, oh Tiso you are FULL of surprises!" The girl continued to laugh beneath her helmet, as if this was the funniest thing she'd heard in years.

I'll admit, I was quite insulted at this blatant dismissal of my fighting ability, just because I lack my own nail. Still, I tried not to show it, quickly getting rid of the slight agitation on my face, and taking a page out of her book, and tried to confidently dismiss her laughs.

"Spare your breath, God Tamer. I'll prove to you I can beat whatever this colosseum throws at me, all without my own nail. After all, you haven't seen me fight yet." I told her, leaning back on the seat once again, as if doing something like that was no trouble at all.

God Tamer continued her giggling, unable to fully stop herself, that is, until I finished speaking. Only then did she lean in, and get right up to my face, once again almost poking me with her pointed helmet as she did so.

"But you haven't seen these people fight, have you? Tiso, Tiso, Tiso. I'll tell you what's going to happen. You're going to go in there, block a few hits, then get tired, and eventually these fools will strike you down. I'd heavily advise leaving if you want to avoid that fate." God Tamer warned me, absolutely sure of herself, which didn't appear to be uncommon for her, yet this seemed like a special kind of certain, like it would take some kind of impossible, insane feat to prove her wrong.

So, of course I was once again going to challenge her. I stopped leaning back, and moved towards her, as that pointed part of her helmet was now touching my face, yet I ignored it. Her helmet was cold, and up this close I could see all the scars and scratches on it from many, many battles. 

"Thank you for the offer, God Tamer. But I think I'll stay. I can't wait to prove you wrong. I know what I'm doing. And I know I'm going to beat that trial, and everything else this place throws at me. With nothing but myself, and my shield. You can count on it." I retorted with full faith in myself, standing strong as I gazed into that helmet once again, still unable to catch even a glimpse of her face, besides her distinctly white eyes.

Our eyes sat locked for around a minute, although that minute felt like an hour. An hour of two warriors staring into each other's very being, seeing if we truly believed our claims. I could tell she believed her's, and she could tell I believed mine.

"You know, I like you Tiso. No one has ever stood up to me the way you have today. And if they have, well, I've cut them down. But...something's telling me not to do that with you. At least, not down here. Anyway, I'll be sure to get a front row seat to your trial," God Tamer got up from the bench, and began to walk away back to where she came from, as I stood up too, both because she did, and because I'd done all the preparation I needed to do, "I'll see you there...shorty." She told me with a snicker, rather playfully as she continued to stroll away, her beast now following the ant.

The random insult caught me off guard, so I promptly fired back, even if she wasn't being very serious.

"Yeah yeah, be ready to eat your words God Tamer! I'll conquer that trial!" I shouted after her, causing the bug to chuckle once again.

We didn't say anything after that, as I saw her and the beast head for the exit to this place, while I went back to the left of the room, leaving the rest area.

Because, it was time...for my trial.


	2. Trial of the Warrior

Finally. Finally, after all this time I had spent looking, looking for the one place in the world for warriors like me to truly test our skills, I had found it. I'd had my rest, I'd said what I needed to say, I paid my geo, and I'd left my mark. This was it. It was time for battle. Time for me, to do battle. This was the trial...of the warrior.

I stood in the tunnel-like room that lead to the main part of the colosseum. I could feel my blood pumping around my body, as my heart raced with excitement, and determination. I could see a light at the end of the room, that certainly lead to my battlegrounds. The cheers and chants of the crowd beckoned me closer to the arena. I could hardly contain myself! I was determined to not become like these fools in chains around me, and I was even more determined to prove to these other bugs that I could get through this trial relying on nothing but my wits, and skill as a fighter. All these thoughts echoed through my mind, as my footsteps echoed through the room, these sounds quickly becoming drowned out by the voices in the audience, which were eager for some blood to be shed. And I was too! But, I was sure that none of this blood would be mine. 

But it was time to stop merley speaking of my skills in combat, it was time to show it.

The crowd grew silent as they saw me step out onto the battlefield, as I saw that these bugs all stood high above a circular arena, to the sides of a gigantic...corpse? Surely, that wasn't the Lord Fool I'd heard about, right? Were people unaware of his death, or did they just choose to ignore it? I may never know.

Among the crowd of similar looking bugs sporting faces that almost seemed like masks, I saw one distinct figure amongst them, right at the front of the audience. God Tamer. It made me quite happy that she'd kept her word and wanted to witness my trial, and she even got a view of the whole arena too! She stood there with her arms crossed, as her helmet covered head continued to follow me, although she lacked her pet beside her this time (my guess is it was too large to fit up there).

As I was looking up at the crowd, I decided to strike a pose, since I was putting on a show after all. I held my shield up the air, as I looked confidently towards the audience! They all cheered at this, some even clapping, as I heard some begin talking about me. Judging me, and more than likely, judging my lack of a nail. As bugs always did. 

Still, I ignored their comments on my choice of weapon, instead focusing on the cheers. My eyes were yet again drawn back to the one distinct figure up there, as God Tamer continued to look down at me, unmoving, and leaning to one side. I got the impression that she wasn't expecting much of me. She'd probably seen a million bugs like me enter this place with the same desires as me. Same attitude. Only she would be able to say just how many left alive, and how many ended up thrown down into the depths of Kingdom's edge.

I began to stop posing, and the audience stopped cheering, soon all that could be heard were the crowd talking amongst themselves while God Tamer stood silent, as the first cage rose up from the ground. Revealing my first foe. The trial of the warrior, had begun.

The warrior was a gladiator with a red helmet, a nail, and a shield, who began to run towards me. 

It was time to prove I wasn't just one of these fools. 

Reacting quickly, I sprinted towards my foe faster than he was running towards me. He swung his nail at me like a club, attempting to behead me! But, I was faster, and avoided his strikes by sliding under the fool, nocking him off his feet as his face hit the floor. But the fool didn't stay down for long. And unfortunately for him, nor did I. We both got up around the same time, but he was facing away from me. Before that knight could turn around, I threw my shield at him, spinning through the air! The shield hit the lower half of his body, slicing through the bug with ease, as my shield acted like some kind of buzzsaw! An orange, toxic liquid came flying out of the creature, as my shield had gotten itself stuck in the left wall.

I hastily ran over there and retrieved my shield, while I realised that the audience had gone completely silent. They had certainly not expected THAT from someone with no nail. Even God Tamer went from her doubtful stance, to leaning her head over the stadium itself, looking closer at the knight chopped in two. I wouldn't have been surprised if her mouth was hanging open under that helmet. 

I held my shield, which was now dripping orange liquid, in the air, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers, with this time no doubtful talk about my weapon. God Tamer meanwhile, was not cheering. Instead looking at me with her hand on where her chin would be, now pondering what has just happened, as if she was unable to fully process it, either that, or she was wondering what I would do against my future opponents.

Either way, I figured she should relax a little. So I gave her a wink, smirking as I did so. I didn't see a reaction to that, but hopefully it made her smile under that helmet. Well, I say that loosely. As I did see her antenna perk up, which was something she couldn't quite hide under there.

Still, this wasn't the time for celebration. That was only my first opponent after all. Once the cheering stopped, two more cages rose up from the ground at both sides of me, which revealed two more fools wearing a similar helmet, and sporting the same weapons. This time, they began slowly walking towards me, however I was much faster than them. I flung my shield at the one on the right with more force than before, chopping them in two immediately! The other knight saw this and attacked, slashing at me with his nail. But I knew what his fate was the second he started attacking. I ducked under these swings, as my shield flew over me, hitting my attacker square in the chest! My shield had flown through the first bug, bounced off the wall, and stabbed the other on it's way to the other side of the arena!

My attacker fell to the floor, shield in his chest, which I pulled out quickly (and saw it was covered in more of that orange infection). The crowd practically exploded in cheers! However, the cages came quicker this time, not waiting for the crowd to finish. These cages however, were a lot smaller, and two armoured Baldurs came out of them. Again, at either side of me. I saw both of the small creatures charge towards me as they curled up into a ball! However, I knew I could take advantage of their small size, despite the armour. So, I ran up to one of them and crushed it with my shield, and I then did the same to the other one, before it could even hit me!

That's when something unexpected happened. I saw platforms rise up from the ground, and on them sat the cages of five more armoured Baldurs. All five came rushing down at me, and before I could react, the bugs coated in small yet heavy spiked armour landed a direct hit to my head, causing pain to shoot through my body. When this place landed a hit on you, it wasn't playing around.

But neither was I, after all the Baldurs had bounced off my skull and onto the ground, I decided the easiest way to be rid of them, would be to just grab one of those knight's nails off the ground, and cut all these bugs down. And that's exactly what I did, slicing through them while trying to avoid their charges. Which proved to be easier said than done, as I managed to get hit by them yet again, as they slammed their heavy armour against my legs! But, thankfully, I had finally gotten rid of them all, and tossed the nail back to the ground. 

I didn't like to use a nail. It didn't really fit my fighting style, and when I attempted using one years ago, I often just ended up getting too reckless with it, and got more often than not almost fatally hurt with it in combat before, which earned me some scars thankfully hidden by my hood.

But now wasn't the time to think of the past. As a new cage emerged from the centre of the arena, a round and short bug in silver armour came out of it, sporting two small blades in each hand. This fool threw their weapon at me in an arc, which I just barely managed to hit away with my shield. But that, gave me an idea. This fool then threw their other small blade at me, which I bounced back at it with my shield, stabbing the bug in the stomach, causing it to recoil back, but not go down.

Instead, the bug pulled out more of the small blades and through two at me at once! I reacted quickly, and waited in anticipation for the shots to reach me. I hit them both back, landing more shots onto the body of the bug, causing it to finally fall to the floor.

I wiped sweat from my face and took a breath as more cages came up from the ground. This time, containing two of them! It appeared as though my last strategy wasn't going to work, as now there were too many of these bugs to deal with and reasonably block. So I did the next best thing.

As I held my shield above my head, I picked up the larger nails of the two red armoured bugs I had killed, and threw them both at these two! I felt the weight of their blades hit my shield above, however my strategy had seemingly caught them off guard, as I landed a direct hit on both of them! This time, I had managed to penetrate their helmets and stab right through them! I made a mental note to not get hit by one of those nails the next time one of the bugs in red armour came after me. My eyes were drawn to two more cages either side of me, as I saw two Primal Aspids emerge from them. Oh no.

I held my shield in front of me, as the one on the right shot infection at me, however I felt a throbbing pain go through my back, as the other Aspid landed it's hits on me. However, despite being stuck between two of them, I had dealt with these creatures before, as I had to kill many of them in order to even get to the colosseum! I ran over to the left Primal Aspid and rammed into it with my shield, crushing it against the wall. Then, I turned only to get hit by the shots of the one Aspid that was still alive, causing yet another surge of pain. I wasted no time taking it out, as before it could fire another shot, I silenced it by tossing my shield at the creature faster than it could avoid, making it explode into infection! 

I ran over to my shield, retrieving it, as it was now coated in orange, just before my new foes appeared.

However, my foes did not appear just yet. Instead, I felt the ground beneath me shake!? Looking down, I saw iron spikes begin to emerge from the floor! Looking around the arena, I saw platforms rise out of the ground, which sat just above the spikes. I rushed over there without wasting a second, jumping on top of the platforms and clinging to them for dear life, lying on my hands and knees while I caught my breath. But before I could get up, two more Primal Aspids emerged from cages and began firing at me! I quickly placed my shield over my head and protected it, forcing the Aspids to fly downwards and closer to me in order to land a shot. And that was exactly what I wanted to happen.

I reached forward, grabbing the gooey, disgusting, ancient bug and throwing it into the spikes below, killing it instantly. Before the other could escape, I leaped into the air and did the same to it! I felt a rush over excitement run over me as I landed back onto a platform. Now THAT was satisfying.

Yet then, I saw the platforms shake this time. Specifically, one I stood on. I looked around for some safe ground to fight on, and saw a set of three newly appeared platforms under me. I dived onto them, only just making the jump. But there wasn't time to celebrate however, as two more sets of platforms rise from the ground, carrying two more blade throwing fools. 

They both started throwing their sharpened silver blades at me, however I managed to knock all them towards one of these fools, showering them with a demise of their own making. The other fool had to restock their ammunition, as the started pulling out more of these blades. I used this as a perfect opportunity, and jumped onto their platform above, moving behind them, and putting all my force into my shield as I charged into the fool, causing them to fall into the spikes and immediately being killed.

A similar, third fool then emerged from a cage that appeared on the centre platform. However, before they even knew what hit them, I had already jumped down to their ground and shoved them into the spikes below, as they joined the other fool down there. The platforms began to fall and reemerge from the ground, constantly changing positions. But I was ready for it this time, and managed to jump from platform to platform, until they ceased. I was attempting to catch my breath, as I stood on the bottom platform, closest to the spikes below, with two more layers of ground above me.

I looked over to the audience for what felt like the first time in hours, as I saw them all leaning forward, trying to get a good look at me. They were, clearly impressed. And I may have been relishing in it a little too much, as before I knew it I was knocked off my feet by an armoured Baldur, causing me to land on my back, almost dropping into the spiked ground below.

And just my luck, I spotted a Primal Aspid out of the corner of my eye, flying towards me. Acting quickly so I didn't actually get pushed down there, I grabbed the Primal Aspid out of the sky, as it squirmed and bit me, and I threw it into the spikes below! Then, the Baldur came charging at me once more, but that's exactly what I was waiting for. At the very, very last possible second I rolled to the side, causing the Baldur to completely miss the mark, as it fell off the platform, and to it's doom. Just as I saw another come out of it's cage, I made quick work of it, and crushed the poor bug under my shield.

That's when I felt the ground shake beneath me once again. Looking up, I saw now only two platforms were above me, sitting next to each other, completely still. However, before I could jump to them, the platforms I was currently on all folded inwards and started disappearing into the ground, causing the crowd to let out a gasp as I began to fall toward the spikes…

No. No, I wouldn't give in here! In a desperate attempt to not get stabbed by this death trap, I reached out for the platform above me, only just grabbing it with the hand not clutching my shield. I summoned all the strength left in me to pull myself back up, as I collapsed onto the platforms, lying on my back in relief.

But the colosseum gives no sympathy. Four cages all rose up from the floor and surrounded me, unleashing four Vengeflies that came flying towards me, snapping their jaws and trying to get a bite out of me. Before they could harm me, I got up and back into a fighting stance, as I watched them all near ever closer. Then, I swung my shield at the bugs, hitting them all with such force that I managed to kill them all! As each one seemed to go down quicker than the last. 

That's when...something strange happened. As in, nothing, happened. That's what was so strange about it. The ground didn't shake. There were no more cages to reveal new foes. Just...nothing. I looked around, confused, wondering what was supposed to happen now, when a large shadow fell over me. I looked up to the highest point in the colosseum, and saw that a gigantic, monstrous creature had began flying down towards me. A Vengefly King.

It roared, letting out a screech that seemed to shake the very walls of the colosseum, as it flew down right towards me, with it's gaping maw wide open, ready to clamp down on me.

But I wouldn't let it. I threw my shield up at this beast of a bug, hitting it right in the centre of it's mouth. The beast stopped flying towards me as it shook it's head in agony, screeching again as my shield fell back down to me.

I grabbed my weapon mid air, ready for the bug's next attempt to swallow me, chew me up, then spit me out into the spikes below. The Vengefly King flew to the right of the arena, before swooping down towards me. My only option was to attempt jumping over this thing, as I had nowhere to run, and blocking this attack would've just gotten me pushed off and impaled by the spikes below. I leapt up into the air as this mighty bug flew underneath my foot, as the crowd shouted in surprise and cheers. 

I turned to the left of the arena, seeing the Vengefly King start turning around, I saw an opening. If I could get another good hit on this thing, my shield may be able to stab into it if I applied enough force. So, that's exactly what I tried to do. I pulled back my arm, aimed at the gigantic fly's body, and tossed my shield right at the creature!

I saw my shield soar through the air, as it spared no time crashing straight into the Vengefly King's side, causing infection to spew out of it. The fly screeched once more, and was nocked back into the wall behind it from the sheer force of the impact!

…

...to my horror though, this, was not enough to kill it. Now the flying devil was just angry, and had my shield stuck in it's side, as it got ready to go in for the kill on the now defenceless bug. I looked around the platform I stood on, desperately searching for anything else to use to attack it. But, there was nothing, as all the other weapons of fallen warriors, and sharp armour of Baldurs had all crashed down into the spikes below, impossible to reach from up here. I had no other weapons with me besides my shield...what could I do?

…

...that's when I had an idea. It was insane. It could very easily end in my own death if not done right. But it was the only option left. 

I looked at this thing. I glared at it. Staring into those black, evil eyes. I stood my ground and got into a ready position, bending forwards slightly, and spreading my arms and legs out. Trying to ignore how utterly exhausted my body was. The crowd watched us both, unable to look away. When the moment of truth arrived. 

The Vengefly King opened it's jaws wide, and dived down towards me. While I stood there, unmoving. And waiting. For that perfect moment. 

Just as it was about to crush me between it's jaws, as it got right down to my level, that's when I played my hand. I jumped right over the bug, as I had done before to dodge it's strikes. But this time, I didn't jump all the way over it. Instead, I leapt only a small distance into the air, and landed right on top of this beast of a bug! I clutched it's body tightly, while the crowd let out excited and baffled shouts. The Vengefly King definitely wanted me gone the second I landed onto this thing, and started thrashing it's body around violently, flying in strange patterns in order to shake me off. I had only just managed to hang on, and it was time to set my plan into motion. 

Picking my time carefully, not wanting to accidentally fall off this thing, and hoping it wouldn't think to smash me into a wall, I leaned to the side and pulled out my shield that was wedged into it's body, and then began jabbing at the bug with it. Crashing the edges of my shield into it's head, hoping one of these would end up being the final blow. 

The Vengefly King shrieked in pain and anger, as it's flight somehow grew even more uncontrollable and haphazard. But I tried my best not to be shaken by it, as I kept a firm grip on the creature with one hand, while I carried my shield in the other, constantly smacking it into the creatures head, cutting it over and over, as infection kept spewing out of the bug and seemingly was the only fluid inside of this thing! Until finally, I stabbed into it so hard and so many times, the Vengefly King let out one final shriek, and I could feel it's body lose it's life. Before I would also meet my demise, I leapt off of the creature, pushing myself off of it and only just managing to land back onto the platform I had came from. I lay on my back, panting, sweating, as I heard the sound of the Vengefly King being stabbed by the spikes below, and knew for sure, it...was dead.

That's when I felt the platform I was on start to shake, as it dropped me quickly before I had time to react. Oh no. Oh no no no no no. I was a goner. After all that work, was I doomed to meet the same fate as the gigantic Vengefly?

I suppose fate had other things planned for me, as when I hit the floor, I did not die. I felt the dirt and rock beneath me. Which, certainly hurt, since the platform had just dropped me onto there from so high up, but I was alive. I had survi-

As I lay on the ground, I saw a large cage be lifted up above me. And whatever was inside crashed against the walls, causing the crowd to gasp in fear, at what could this creature could even BE! It thrashed again, shaking the very cage itself. I summoned what little energy I had left, and rolled out of the way of it, as whatever was in that cage was surely going to fall directly under it, which was where I lay at that time.

After another loud bang, and after I tried to gather all the strength I possibly could, I stood up. I readied my shield. Holding it out in front of me, ready to block whatever this thing would throw at me.

Then, the cage opened.

...And out of it, fell a very small bug, with a white face, and dirty, tattered cloak. The bug shouted it's war cry into the air, and began to run towards me, holding out it's nail and slashing at me with incredible speed. This was no ordinary bug though. This, was Zote, the mighty.

Well...he wasn't half the knight he said he was. Or even a quarter of the knight he said he was. The creature was so small, he had managed to run under my shield, and start smacking his nail against my legs. It didn't hurt. I didn't even flinch. In fact, it seems the force of the impact did more to him than me, as Zote was flung back a little every time one of his many blows found their way to my legs.

"You know...there are some more effective weapons on the ground over th-," I started to suggest to him.

"Quiet you! Lest you feel the wrath, of Life Ender! Fight me! Coward!" The bug challenged me, clearly very agitated at the mere idea I had talked during our…'fight'.

I looked to the crowd, as I saw every single one of them laughing. Even God Tamer had her hand on her helmet, and just laughed mockingly at the creature.

Well. This was certainly something. I'm not usually one for sparing foes, but this...This was just sad.

I grabbed Zote the pathetic by one of his horns, and threw him into the wall across the stadium. He was sent flying out of the colosseum, and this knight was actually so small he managed to fit through one of the holes in the gate that blocked the exit to the right of the building.

I stood there, still breathing heavily, as I was completely exhausted from...every fight but that one. But, strangely enough, I didn't hear the sound of another cage being opened. Or more platforms rising, or anything like that. Was...was it finally over? Had I beaten the trial of the warrior? 

I looked to the audience, as their laughing stopped, as they all looked back. Suddenly, I saw all of them reach down onto the ground below them, and start throwing Geo towards me. All of them, cheering as they did so, applauding and shouting in praise of my accomplishment. 

I let a smile creep it's way onto my face. This, was my moment. This was glory. And it was invigorating. I felt my heart pump faster than it ever had in what felt like my whole life, all that exhaustion seemed to melt away as I looked up at them all. They had just seen everything I did. I had just seen everything I did! I survived this gauntlet! 

One of the members of the audience suddenly caught my attention, as they raised their fist into the air. It was God Tamer. And she, started shouting.

"WOOOOO! TISO! TISO! TISO!" She repeated, despite it being muffled slightly under the helmet, it was clear she chanted my name. 

I felt myself wanting to cry, as more of the audience started joining in, and soon, everyone up there was shouting my name. Of course, I didn't actually cry. Showing weakness was not something I wished to do right now. But...this was...I couldn't even begin to describe how incredible this felt.

"TISO! TISO! TISO! TISO! TISO! TISO!" All the bugs up there shouted together, they shouted it so loud they might have been able to wake the Lord Fool death if they kept going!

I decided to end my day in the colosseum the same way I started it. I held my shield to the sky, and posed for the crowd, causing my name to be mixed with a mountain of cheers and excited shouts. This was everything I'd ever dreamed of. And here it was. I had earned it. 

After basking in the glory I earned for just a little longer, I finally realised I had to go. After all, they couldn't cheer forever. As much as I would've liked them to, I guess part of being a true warrior requires a sense of honour…unfortunately. So, I gathered up my geo, stood there just a little longer, and finally, I walked out of the arena…

However, I was far too exhausted to attempt the second trial. Likely being even harder than the last. I decided to let myself rest. Gather my strength first. I'd attempt it tomorrow. Yeah. That's what I should do.

But, where did I decide to rest? Well with my pockets full of geo, I exited the colosseum…only to completely collapse onto my knees right outside it. I looked up for any hiding Bellflys, and after spying none, I decided to just lie down out there, now lying on my back, as I thought about everything that happened in there. I could count the geo I had earned, even if that really wasn't something I was all too concerned about.

I lay there on my back for a bit, staring up at the ceiling of this cave, while I had my hands behind my head, and let myself relax. The quiet of the cave, mixed with the faint sounds of rain from the city not too far from here, relaxed my brain as well as the muscles in my body. I could feel that I had earned myself some new scars from this trial. I might have also been bleeding in places, but I didn't let it bother me. After all, that was part of my reward for the fight. Some new trophies to display on my body. Well, the scars were. I'd have to clean up the cuts sooner rather than later. Even if it wasn't anything too bad, probably.

Hm, maybe I could just...rest here. Right outside the colosseum. I didn't really have anywhere else to go anyway. I wasn't from this kingdom after all. So, why not just nap outside this place? Yeah...just stare up at the cave ceiling...hear those soothing rain sounds...shut my eyes...and let myself drift of-

"Hey." A voice whispered, right into my ear.

My ears immediately shot open, and I saw that just, standing RIGHT above me, was God Tamer. Leaning down and looking at me under her crimson helmet.

"What are you doing?" She inquired, slightly laughing as she did so, as she held her gigantic nail in one of her hands, leaning against it.

I got up as fast as I could, only to end up smacking my head into God Tamer's helmet, making me jolt back to the ground and sending a sharp pain through my skull, as a metallic thunk echoed through the cave.

"Oh get up! Can't you go five seconds without getting hurt? Hahahahaha!" She laughed, somewhat playfully, before grabbing my arm and yanking me up to my feet.

I ceased rubbing where I had hit God Tamer's helmet in order to appear tougher. I looked at her with a prideful stare, placing my hand on my chest.

"Well, I DID just complete the trial of the warrior, so I can obviously protect myself. Seems somebody got a little excited about my victory there, hm?" I explained, giving her a confident look.

God Tamer walked forwards, standing over me even when I stood up completely straight. She stopped after not walking very far, as it was clear she only did that to make herself look bigger. Because...she was.

"Oh please, sure, you completed the trial. But do you know how many times you almost died like every other fool here? Only to JUST escape death?," She seemed like she was mocking me, as if trying to devalue my achievement a little. However, she continued.

"...and do you know how FUN that was to watch!? That was one of the most exciting trials I've ever seen! Of COURSE I'm gonna be excited when some nobody I've never heard of starts RIDING THE VENEGFLY KING! Hm...you know you'd think I would've thought of that...but, still! That was INSANE!" God Tamer recounted, as she talked about what I did with very clear excitement, brimming with energy.

I was certainly a fan of these compliments, yet getting it from someone as feared as God Tamer seemed to be felt like something else entirely. I couldn't help but be very flattered by her words.

"I mean, I just, gave it everything I had, you know? And, if you thought it was fun just watching, the thrill of actually doing it, constantly staring death in the face was exhilarating! The fight, it's easily the most fun part of being a true warrior. The glory of course, is a close second." I explained to her, very clearly proud of myself.

She nodded her head to practically everything I said there. Well, practically.

"Not even close. The fight is what being a gladiator is all about. It's what's most fun. It, is, THRILLING! Oooooo, I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it!...Heh, of course, while it's not close in my book, the glory is definitely second. Nothing beats having an exciting match, only to then have others cheer you on for it. It's why I fight here after all. And why I fight with my pet." She explained to me, as I thought about it all.

That's when I noticed God Tamer didn't actually have her…'pet' with her. It was nowhere to be found.

"Well, speaking of which, where are they?" I asked her, despite being quite happy it wasn't here at the moment, since that creature looked like the stuff of nightmares, rather than a loyal companion.

God Tamer pointed behind her towards the colosseum with her thumb, not looking away from my direction.

"The big guy is resting in there, I spend so much time in this place there was even a room made specifically for 'em. It's being a hidden wall though, so don't try looking for it. Besides, my pet needs their privacy." God Tamer explained, pretty casually.

I just nodded my head, half looking back at the colosseum.

"Got it...so, why did you come out here anyway?" I questioned the ant, wondering why exactly she disturbed my attempt at rest, even if the praise was greatly appreciated.

God Tamer took yet another step closer. Her appearance seemed to just, radiate some intimidating aura, somehow. It made me want to take a step back, if I'm honest.

"Glad you asked. Tiso. You're a good fighter. Most people here don't even make it past the first trial. They, are stupid. But you Tiso? You...are also stupid-" I stopped her.

"Hey!" I told her as I leaned forward, only to be pushed away by a laughing God Tamer.

"I'm kidding, fool!...Heh, well, mostly anyway. You see Tiso, you went in there with no nail, and relying on a weapon that has some very noticeable drawbacks. You almost died in there multiple times because of it after all. Which is pretty stupid to me. But, you're also quick on your feet. And you're able to come up with stuff that doesn't always involve throwing your shield, which is a good trait for a warrior. So, I came out here to make you an offer." God Tamer explained, placing her hands behind her back, and her sword along with them.

She circled around me, as if inspecting me, while deep in thought.

"I want to train you. Help make sure during one your death defying stunts, you don't actually end up dying. Which is something I can definitely see happening if you were to attempt the next trial at your current skill level."

"Well, I've been training for years on my-"

"But have you learnt from the best?" God Tamer asked me, cutting me off as she came to a stop, planting her sword into the ground.

I didn't answer that. I was really only self taught when it came to combat. So I suppose learning from someone this time would actually help me. And if what she said was true, I would need that help.

"...Alright then, God Tamer. I'll let you train me. But, first, a question. Why train me? Have you trained other's before? Are you looking for a reward or something?" I asked her, unsure about this, after all, this kingdom did have it's fair share of con artists. Even if I doubted she was one, judging from the fear in the other fools' eyes when she merley entered the room, plus her being very clearly quite muscular showed me she certainly trains herself a lot.

Yet, God Tamer shook her head at my questions.

"Never trained anyone else. Never really wanted to either, whether they made it past the first trial or not. And look, I have enough geo to make those wealthy husks jealous from all my battles. I won't be looking for any from you." She explained to me, dismissing my only ideas as to why someone like her would offer that to me.

"Okay...I accept your offer! I'm still curious as to why you want to train me in particular though…" I told her with a nod.

God Tamer simply laughed, again, it was muffled under that helmet ever so slightly, along with her speech in general.

"Heheh, well, I DID start this conversation talking about how exciting you were to watch. So I'd prefer you not dying to get more battles like that." God Tamer explained to me, as she grabbed my arm and yanked me closer to her.

She then proceeded to whisper in my ear once again.

"And because you're cute."

I saw her antenna perk up as she said that, before laughing once more. After she said THAT of all things, I felt my face begin to heat up, and I was unsure how to even respond to that. I started to feel lumaflies in my stomach after hearing that from her, as it was quite obvious I had become quite flustered at this, as what she said completely caught me off guard.

"I-," but before I could get a word in, she yanked me towards the colosseum, and began walking towards it quickly with me, seemingly changing the subject through action.

"I have to go get my pet! Then, we can start having some fun training you Tiso. Gotta warn you, it's not gonna be easy. But eh, that's just more fun."


	3. Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much longer chapter this time, which is why it took so long! I hope you enjoy it, as I look forward to writing more!

Walking. That's what we'd been doing. For hours, God Tamer, her beast that she retrieved from the colosseum, and myself, we're walking across Hallownest. We'd been walking all night without so much as sitting on a bench for even a couple minutes. I had asked part way through this great walk if God Tamer and I could just ride on top of the monster she brought with her, but one snarl from this thing, as it spat small infected fluids in my direction, had told me otherwise. I didn't ask again.

I had no real idea where exactly we were going. The bug had never told me, even when I asked her. She said she was going to surprise me, though with what I couldn't yet tell. And why it was so far away i still couldn't tell. We had gone from the kingdom's edge, down to the city at the very heart of Hallownest, only to go right back up to these forgotten crossroads. All of these places had infected, mindless creatures crawling around every corner. Which God Tamer said *I* had to deal with! As she literally placed her weapon onto the ground when we were confronted with a foe she and the creature she brought with her could easily strike down. The crossroads had certainly seen better days, as they now weren't just abandoned, but now was absolutely full of infection growing on the walls, and almost mutating the bugs around it from how exposed they were to it. It was, certainly a frightening sight, to be truthful. Upon my first encounter with one of the gargantuan Vengeflies, I almost couldn't even move from sheer shock. However, God Tamer just leaned against her pet as she stared up at the flying behemoth, then at me.

"Well? Go on. Kill it." She urged me, seemingly amused by this terrifying sight.

I couldn't exactly tell why God Tamer was so insistent on us not stopping, and only taking what resembled a break so she could watch as I killed the monstrosities that plagued the kingdom. Could this also be part of my training? I wondered. Perhaps she was testing my stamina? I wasn't sure. Well, the bug certainly tested my patience, that's for sure.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking, we had finally reached what appeared to be God Tamer's destination. The Fungal Wastes.

After travelling a little more throughout this strange, mushroom covered land, God Tamer eventually came to a halt, at what appeared to be a completely barren, flat space, besides all the mushrooms of course.

"Here we are. You can stop walking now Tiso. At least, for now. Because it's time to start your training!" God Tamer exclaimed, pointing her gigantic nail right at me.

I was panting, sweating, and generally not in the best mood. I placed my hand on a fungi covered wall, and leaned against it for a brief rest.

"You...you mean all that walking wasn't part of the training?" I asked her, still catching my breath. The amount of constant walking we did without so much as standing still, at least, I didn't get to sit still, was absurd. How wasn't she tired in the slightest?

I could practically FEEL her roll her eyes at that, as she stabbed her nail into the ground and leaned on one hip.

"What? Of course it wasn't, fool! If anything, that was just the training FOR the training, walking that far is child's play! For a fighter, you don't have great stamina. Or are you some kind of bug that isn't built for walking long distances? I can't tell." God Tamer told me, rudely.

I huffed out of annoyance, and got off of the wall, even if I was still very much out of breath, I tried to shake it off. I walked up to her and stood up straight, then standing on the tips of my feet in order to be taller and more imposing...yet she was still effortlessly standing over me. But I ignored that too.

"Well, for your information I'm an ANT! Like you are! I'm perfectly built for this kind of thing, I did travel all the way to this kingdom on FOOT, might I add! It's just that having zero rests after travelling for hours is COMPLETELY unreasonable! Even the greatest warriors, like myself, need to take a break or slow down or, something!" I explained to her, very clearly quite agitated.

God Tamer let out a chuckle when I called myself one of the greatest warriors (I have no idea why though) and she proceeded to lean forward, holding one hand behind her back.

"Oh, you're an ant? Wow...that's even more embarrassing. Are your antennae under here or...?," God Tamer reached out with her other hand and grabbed my hood, which I swatted away.

"H-hey! H-hands off! Now! I-, there's no r-reason to look under there!" I told her, as I quickly began to create some distance between us both.

God Tamer just snickered. I began to notice there was almost something about me she appeared to find amusing. She didn't strike me as someone who laughs a lot, despite the fact she seems to have done it quite a bit when talking to me. Hm. She's a strange bug indeed.

"Fine then you...odd, fool. I don't really get what you're hiding under there, but I won't touch your hood. Not that that's important anyway. No Tiso, what's important is your first task in your training. Would you like to know what that is?" She asked me, this rather redundant question.

I rolled my eyes at her this time, with a smirk.

"Well, I'm here to be trained aren't I?" I told her, confidently.

God Tamer nodded. Then just...stood there, looking at me, before placing her hand on the nail in the ground.

"Your first task, Tiso…," God Tamer spoke softly, almost disingenuously softly, before raising her weapon from the ground, and pointing it at me once more,   
"Is to fight ME!" 

God Tamer announced this with a shout, and almost immediately after she did, I saw her start sprinting towards me, clutching her gigantic nail in both hands.

God Tamer leaped into the air at blinding speeds, and was flying down towards me, ready to cut me in two with her nail. I had an incredibly small window of time to react, and practically had milliseconds to hold my shield in front of my face, which blocked her attack as God Tamer crashed her behemoth of a weapon into mine, causing sparks to fly and my legs to tremble from the weight of the blade.

Before I could counter attack, God Tamer jumped away from me, creating quite a large gap between us both. It seemed she was definitely well skilled at jumping in combat.

"Impressive." She told me from afar, holding the gargantuan nail in front of her.

I decided it would be best to play it cool after expertly blocking an attack like that. Be humble. But not too humble.

"Despite failing to land your attack, I suppose you didn't do too ba-" 

My reply was completely cut off when I felt a force even greater than the ant's nail crash into the side of my body, sending me flying into a fungus filled wall, and making my body ache in agony as I collapsed into the ground. My face was absolutely covered in the mushrooms below. I felt my vision start to blur from just that blow alone. What...what hit me…?

As my vision began to return, I could only just make out a large, beastly shape in the distance that was roaring proudly, as God Tamer walked in front of it, towards me. As she dragged her nail across the ground.

"First rule of the colosseum, expect anything coming at you from anywhere." She explained, before breaking into a sprint towards me.

In a panic, I scrambled to get back onto my feet, picking my shield up from the ground hastily, I took one look up and saw God Tamer was seconds away from slicing my head clean off. Sweat began pouring from every part of my body as I readied myself for her attack.

She swung the nail to my side, however I was ready with a plan this time. I blocked it with my shield, then summoned every ounce of strength that I didn't even know I had to push my shield towards her, and parry her attack. While she was caught off guard, I took full advantage of this opportunity and lifted my leg in order to kick her away!...That's when she grabbed my leg. Her grip on it was the tightest thing I'd ever felt in my life. I-, how in the name of Wyrm can a bug have so much physical strength?!

But that's not where it ended. God Tamer used her newfound grip on me to yank me forwards and into the air, tossing me with just one arm like I was some kind of insignificant maggot. I landed right back where I was before her pet threw me into the wall, but this time (after admittedly coughing up some blood), I got back onto my feet quickly, despite my whole being writhing with pain.

I stood there, hunched over and exhausted, still glaring at God Tamer with determination flowing through my eyes.

God Tamer's antennae raised ever so slightly at this, as if surprised I was still attempting to even fight back. I may have been outmatched, I'll give her that, but I wasn't ready to back down. I'm not a quitter.

God Tamer took another leap towards me, but this time, this time I made sure things were different. Instead of waiting to block her attack, I ran out of the way, and threw my shield into her back as she was mid-air! It directly hit her, causing her to lose her form and making her land onto her knees on the ground below. Meanwhile, my shield fell to the ground, which I retrieved before I could get caught off guard again. It seemed like the impact of it had certainly hurt her, but it was nothing fatal, as instead I noticed I had merely scratched her already battle scarred armor.

God Tamer was turned towards me, standing as confident as ever, even despite the fact I finally landed a hit on her. She said nothing, as she held her nail in one hand and began to run towards me. I saw this as yet another opportunity to hit her with my shield, so, I brought my arm back, and threw it at her! Aiming straight for her hea-

That's when she caught it.

She. Caught. My shield. She had used her free hand to slide her arm underneath the weapon as it was coming towards her, and just...just caught it...just like that. I was...I was compeltely at a loss for words. A loss for action. Not only did I lose my only weapon, but I also just GAVE it to her. I was too shocked to even move, as I just stood there, completely still, mouth hung open.

God Tamer on the other hand, completely knew what she was doing. The ant swiftly copied my motion of moving her arm backwards, then letting go of the shield, as it flew towards me. As my lack of fortune would have it, God Tamer landed a direct hit...right through the top of my hood. The shield tore through the fabric, yet the silk from inside of it must have gotten caught on the shield somehow, as I felt myself be lifted from my feet, and carried backwards through the air, right into the mushroom wall, landing with an incredibly large amount of force as the shield wedged itself in between the fungi, pinning me to the wall.

At this point, I was still too stunned by what God Tamer had done to even begin trying to tear myself from both the wall, and my own shield. I hung there in awe, and being completely paralysed with fear, as the ant ran towards me with her nail, ready to deliver one final blow. As she neared ever closer, there was nothing more to do other than brace for impact. I held my arms in front of my face, closed my eyes, and prayed to the gods that something would save me from my inevitable fate…

…

...My...inevitable fate?

...I was...I wasn't dead? 

I opened my eyes, only to find God Tamer standing there in front of me, leaning on her nail as she held out her hand towards me.

"Need any help getting down fool?" She asked, through clear giggles of intense laughter that was begging to be released.

I just hung there for around a minute, just, staring at her…

"You...didn't kill me?" I wondered aloud, completely perplexed.

God Tamer then released the largest laugh I think I've ever heard from any bug I've ever come across. She had to take away her hand from me and hold her chest from how much laughter she released all at once.

"PFFFFTTTTTT KILL YOU?! WE'RE TRAIN-hahahhaha-, TRAINING! Oh Tiso you are the most foolish bug I've ever met. Hahahahaha! Let me help you down fro-, hahahhaa-, from there!" God Tamer explained, unable to contain herself. 

God Tamer stood up on the tips of her feet and effortlessly pulled the shield from the wall with her strength, causing me to fall to the floor, as my now damaged hood to droop forwards. All while God Tamer desperately attempted to stop herself from laughing. At least her laugh was pleasant to listen to, something about it just sounded nice, even if it was purely mocking me. Although honestly I wouldn't be surprised if I was going mad from how hard I was constantly slaming my head into things during the fight.

God Tamer handed me my shield and after...a long while, she eventually calmed herself, and returned to her more usual self, all while her pet looked on from behind her, glaring at me. Perhaps it didn't expect God Tamer to spare me, despite the fact it was merely training. Or maybe it was that the beast was an infected monster with no mind of it's own. I couldn't tell.

Still, my attention was turned back to God Tamer herself, all while my hood dropped over my face, something I would certainly need to fix.

"Well, are you ready to start the next task in your training?" The ant questioned me, as she leaned forward towards me.

I however, feeling my body ache with pain (and needing to sit down to fix my hood), objected to this.

"I think we should rest first, that fight and the walk all the way here was exhausting! Why did we even need to come here so I could fight you? Couldn't we have just done that in Kingdom's Edge?" I explained, unsure about how necessary all that travelling really was.

God Tamer merely shook her head and walked away, as her pet followed behind her, knowing I would too...and I did.

"We didn't come here just to fight Tiso. Well, you didn't come here to JUST fight me. There's still work to do tonight. And talking about having a rest so much isn't going to make the time go any faster, fool. Come on, let me show you something." God Tamer explained.

The ant then leaped onto her pet, and snapped her fingers in an empty space behind her, indicating I should sit down on this...thing. 

I slowly started climbing up it, causing the beast to let out a roar of anger. I can tell this thing disliked me as much as I disliked it.

God Tamer leaned over the beast and knocked her knuckle against it's face, as if to discourage it.

"Hey! Be nice now, we aren't fighting him anymore ok? Now hush and let him get on." God Tamer told the creature, in a similar tone to how someone would tell off...Well, any ordinary pet bug that wasn't three times your size.

The beast grumbled and splattered some infection in response, however it seemed as if it was in a begrudgingly accepting way, assuming such a primitive beast could even have emotions.

"I-is it safe to get on now?" I questioned her, sounding more nervous than I had intended.

God Tamer groaned under her crimson helmet and grabbed me by the arm, yanking me on top of the creature, as I showed a lot more fear in my eyes than I probably should have. The ant sat me down behind her, as her body faced forwards, she turned herself slightly to look at me again.

"There, Tiso the coward. You didn't die. Congratulations." She told me sarcastically, letting out a snicker.

At this point, I had become rather frustrated with her blatant mockery of me.

"HEY! Sh-shu-, I mean, QUIET! I'm no coward, this-, um-, this thing just very clearly hates me! Of course I'd be concerned!" I replied, frustration visible on my face.

The beast below us both seemed to grunt in agreement.

God Tamer meanwhile, just began to giggle yet again, as her antennae perked up.

"Oh Tiso, I swear you always have the best reactions. How can you be so foolish, yet so adorable." God Tamer told me as she finished her laughter, continuing to look at me.

...Admittedly, I didn't really know how to respond to that. I couldn't tell if it was a complement or further mocking. Both? But what I could tell was the strange fungal air down here was getting to me, as I felt my face starting to burn up as I replied.

"I-, well-, um-, I'm no fool, God T-tamer! You're the foolish one for riding a m-monstrosity l-like this! ...But uh-, I-, think you're-, well...you have a-...your laugh is really pretty-," I admitted that last part rather quickly, as I felt the strange heat on my face worsen. Stupid gas spewing mushrooms, this had to be their fault.

I noticed God Tamer's antennae perk up even higher than before extremely quickly upon me finishing that sentence. It seemed like it caught her off guard for whatever reason. I didn't quite know why, after all, I was just stating the obvious. I just wished I could see her actual facial expression under that helmet, rather than just guessing based on her antennae.

God Tamer turned her head back away from me, as she placed her hands under parts of her pet's shell, gripping it tightly.

"That's sweet Tiso...now hold onto me so you don't die." God Tamer responded, at first slowly and calm...then completely changing her tone back to her usual attitude.

Before I could ask her what she meant by this, I felt the ground beneath me begin to slip away, as I started sliding off of the beast, while it began sprinting forwards, trampling mushrooms that desperately tried running from it. I heeded her advice and wrapped my arms around her chest, clutching the other ant tightly.

I couldn't see it, but I had no doubt this reaction of mine gave her a large smirk on her face. 

The creature we rode on ran at speeds I didn't even know were possible for a bug of it's size. It easily squashed every mushroom and fungus infected husk below us, as God Tamer let out a cheer of excitement whenever it crushed one of those.

I felt another bump as we effortlessly destroyed yet another beneath us.

"WOOOOOO! ISN'T THIS AMAZING TISO?! *THIS* IS WHY I TAME GODS!" God Tamer shouted over it's roaring footsteps.

I clutched her tighter as the beast jumped over a pool of acid.

"Y-YEAH!...WHERE ARE WE GOING THOUGH?" I inquired, sweating once again as the beast jumped over more pits in the ground.

"YOU'LL SEE! JUST ENJOY YOURSELF! BESIDES, A GREAT WARRIOR LIKE YOU WOULDN'T POSSIBLY SCARED OF WHAT'S BASICALLY A BUMPIER RIDE ON A STAG!" She shouted back to me, letting out another cheer as we crushed more infected bugs.

"THIS IS NO STAG GOD TAMER!" I shouted yet again, letting out a slight yelp as the creature almost dropped backwards upon jumping over another gap.

"WELL IT'S THE ONLY STAG I'LL EVER NEED!" She replied, as she flung her arms in the air for a brief moment, making me panic even more.

I held her tightly the whole ride. Now, not that I was scared or anything, I just...um...didn't want to die. Yeah. Although, I must admit I'd never really held anyone this close before, under any circumstance. It was...comforting. Despite almost killing me earlier, knowing at the end of the day she was an ally, helped ease my stress atop this creature, just a little. I was never really one for travelling with others, getting training from someone, having...friends. Did she consider me a friend? Did I consider her one? Well besides that lonely knight that had stopped to look at me during my travels, she was the closest thing I really had to, any kind of relationship. After all, the knight I had met a few times before never even said a word to me. What a strange bug.

After a little while, I felt the monster beneath us both come to a stop. My eyes still shut, I wasn't quite sure if we reached our destination, or if God Tamer stopped it because she sensed danger. So I just sat there, waiting for her to say something, as I held the other ant. 

"You're a good hugger you know." God Tamer snickered.

I quickly shot my eyes open and realised that we had actually arrived at the next spot to train. I felt my face warm up once again as I jerked away from God Tamer, and accidentally slid off the beast we sat on and onto the ground in my panic. Landing on my back. I looked up at the ant laughing on the creature, her antennae held high as she slid down the shell rather stylishly, instead of just falling like I did.

"Pft, I mean I didn't say stop." God Tamer told me, as I could just tell she was grinning under that helmet.

I tried not to, yet felt myself go redder after hearing that. I'm not quite sure why though, or why that thought made my chest feel as if it were full of lumaflies. I attempted to ignore it as I attempted to regained my composure.

"W-well-, there's training to do! A-after all, and, that's why we're...wherever we are." I retorted, changing the subject as I looked around the area.

There were wooden poles all around this part of the wastes, each decorated with multiple bug heads, hung like trophies. They even featured some bugs of the fearsome Deepnest. This land featured some very dangerous bugs if they were able to kill what resided in THAT awful place.

"Fool, have you heard of the Mantis Tribe?" God Tamer asked me, as she saw where I gazed, as her beast looked at me behind her with those terrifying eyes.

I thought for a moment before nodding. I had heard rumblings about them from around this kingdom, though I'd never actually met any myself. And probably, for the best.

"Let me guess, this is their work then?" I questioned her, already knowing the answer.

"Right you are, fool. They kill to protect their village. Engage in combat for sport, and are all well trained." She explained, talking about them with a fondness in her tone.

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms, to hide the fact these folk sounded like quite the foes.

"Let me guess, I have to fight them?" I inquired, shuddering after seeing all the damage done to the heads of these bugs that sat upon the poles.

"Right again. And as a matter of fact…," God Tamer and her pet stepped to the side, revealing around five of the bugs patrolling the nearby area not too far from here, "there's some right there. We're going to pay them a visit. This, is why I brought you here." She explained, gesturing for me to come with her as she made her way towards the group.

And of course, I followed, jumping between the pits to get to this patrolling warrior tribe.

God Tamer neared them first, her pet following close behind. As we got closer, I saw them notice the other ant, and proceeded to bow to her. I'm not entirely sure why, truthfully, I thought all of them would try to cut us down on sight.

I saw God Tamer was about to start speaking, when one of them looked up from their bow and ran at me, full speed, holding one of their claws behind their head as they swiped at me.

I quickly raised my shield to my face and swiftly blocked the attack just before it hit me, as I noticed more of the mantises walking towards me in an attempt to surround me. But before they could strike at me again, God Tamer ran in front of me and held her nail out in protest, causing the mantises to lower their claws.

"Woah! It's ok everyone, this isn't just anyone, this fool is here with me!" She exclaimed, holding a hand out in front of me, as if introducing me.

"Thanks for the help, but I'd appreciate you not calling me a fool in front of other bugs." I grumbled under my breath.

She briefly turned her head back to me.

"I'll call you whatever I want, fool." She answered confidentially, knowing I had no way to stop her.

She the returned her gaze to five mantises surrounding us both, and lowered her nail, as she began to explain herself.

"So, mantises. I'd like a favour from you. I'm training the short one here, and I'd like all of you to spar with him for a bit, see if he can defeat all of you in some friendly combat. In return for helping him, you guys get...a special invitation, to come and visit my colosseum whenever you desire. It's a place where only the greatest of fighters test their strength, you would all fit right in. Do you accept?" God Tamer asked them in a way that I must admit was rather persuasive. Although that might be my bias for wanting to fight in the arena showing.

The mantises all looked at each other curiously, discussing the idea without exchanging a single word. They could certainly talk, they had mouths after all, they just all struck me as fighters of few words.

After much silent debate, and me trying to peer through the holes of God Tamer's helmet in order to see where she gazed during all of this, it seemed the mantises had finally reached an agreement, and all nodded at her.

"Great! I look forward to seeing all of you on my turf for a change," she then turned, only to walk past me and jump onto her pet, using it as a seat while she looked down upon me, "Oh, and good luck Tiso. I'm rooting for you, but you're going to need all the luck you can get. Hehe, this is going to be fun." 

Before I could reply, her pet created a lot of distance between her, and the two parties about to do battle. I looked over to the mantis warriors that all stood before me, and gazed at them, as they did to me. All five then lowered their heads in unicent, and bowed. 

I did the same, feeling my torn hood fall over one of my eyes. 

After a few seconds, the mantises all got up from their bows, as I copied. We both knew then, the time for combat was upon us.

Two of the bugs immediately came charging towards me, claws held behind their heads as they swung at me with both grace, and ferocity. Their speed did not catch me off guard this time however, as I anticipated an attack of this nature. I used this knowledge to my advantage, and was able to block them with my shield, before summoning all my might to knock them away using my shield. 

The two mantises stumbled backwards, yet weren't completely thrown off. This soon changed however, when I threw my shield below them both, throwing it with just enough force to knock them both on the ground, yet not enough to chop their very legs off as my weapon collided with the two of them. As we were just training after all...and I didn't want to become an enemy of this tribe.

My shield became stuck in the wall behind them, and I ran over to retrieve it, making sure to step on the two Mantises on the ground as I did so, burying their heads in the spores of these fungi with my feet, which would hopefully be strong enough to render them unconscious.

As I was just about to retrieve my shield of the clutches of the mushroom wall, I felt a sharp pain run through my back as I was propelled through the air, landing face first into the fungal wall beside my shield. After retrieving it and coughing up some blood, I turned to find my three remaining mantis opponents, staring me down, calculating my every move. Surely, these trained warriors would be able to counter any sudden attack. I'd have to out smart them somehow. Hm.

I took a determined step forward, looking at the mantis in the centre with fire in my eyes, as we glared deep into each other. She saw this as a challenge, and I saw her preparing to strike, beginning to move her claw ever so slightly up towards her head.

I took another step, smirking at the bug confidently. It seemed as if this blatant taunting was enough to trigger her attack, as she dashed forward towards me with that spiked arm aiming for my head, seemingly disregarding the fact the goal wasn't to kill each other. 

Yet like before, I was ready. This time, I took a step backwards to avoid the attack, and once she missed, I leaped forward, repeatedly bashing her head with my metal shield. It's weight seemed as if it was too much for the bug, as she fell to the floor.

I wasn't given any time to rest however, as the other two warriors ran over to defend their comrade, slashing at me using both their claws. Before they could land their blows, I turned, blocking them with my shield as I saw sparks fly off of it from their repeated attacks, as I began to be pushed backwards through their sheer force.

However, I hadn't accounted for the fact there was an opening to attack beside me, since I was holding the shield with just one of my arms, I was instinctively only blocking half my body. One of the mantises noticed this, and took a swing right at the right of me. Once again acting on instinct, I readied my right arm to block, despite the fact I was already using my shield on the other arm. 

The mantis' claws cut through my arm, leaving a large, gruesome looking cut going along my whole arm. It ached with pain, as it stung to no end.

"AGH!" I sounded in pain, through grinded teeth.

The mantises however, kept attacking, uncaring for my pain. However, I made sure my shield was in the centre of me now, blocking my whole body, and I paid close attention to when they would try to go around it. I needed another plan, quickly.

Nothing seemed very safe. The only trick I'd be able to pull here would be catching them off guard somehow, but, how was I supposed to do that? Nothing in the environment could help here. I'm sure God Tamer would see me as another failure, just another fool, if I couldn't even defeat some mantises. She would tell me to go get training from someone else, as she rides away from me on her stupid-

Then, I had my idea. 

A slight smirk crept it's way up my face as I knew what I had to do. As the mantises took away their claws once again to strike at me, I used the brief window of opportunity to jump high in the air, away from them, as I turned around. I saw God Tamer, sitting atop her pet as she looked up at me with a tilted head, as her beast glared into me with it's infected, rage filled eyes.

Mid-air, I threw my shield...directly at the face, of God Tamer's pet. 

The creature stood up on it's hind legs in rage, knocking the tamer herself off of it, as it rolled into a ball. That's when I landed back onto the ground, and wasted no time running straight towards the confused mantises, who were wondering why in Hallownest I just attacked our spectator. They didn't have much time to think about that though, as that very same spectator came rolling towards the three of us a blinding speed. However, since I knew this was coming, I had just managed to jump out of the way, leaving the two mantis warriors to be crushed into the ground by the savage beast. 

God Tamer quickly ran over to it to stop this thing from causing anymore damage, patting it's face to try and sooth it as it drooled infection and snarled at me. 

I looked around the area for any more opponents, however, it seems I had beaten them all, as they all lay on the ground in defeat. Even the ones crushed by the beast had thankfully not been killed, as they coughed through the spores produced by the mushroom floor, and tried to get up.

I turned back to where God Tamer and her pet were as I retrieved my shield, seeing the tamer herself walk towards me. I held my head high and pushed out my chest in a confident manner, smiling as I did so.

"Yes, yes, I know, I did great in that fi-"

She cut me off as she punched me in the jaw, making me recoil backwards and clutch it in pain.

"THAT is for attacking my pet!" She shouted, pointing a finger towards me angrily. 

I held my shield in front of my face as I began to shake, I don't think I'd ever seen her this mad before.

I felt her pick me up from my crouched, terrified position, standing me back up next to her, as the ant glared at me, straight through her helmet.

"And THIS!," She proclaimed, as I closed my eyes and began to sweat in pure, unfiltered fear, "...is for impressing me." She said, a lot calmer now.

I felt her lift me up in the air as my eyes shot open, and she hugged me with one arm, laughing triumphantly as if she were the one who won the fight.

"I-, tha-thank y-ou? I-...ow-, thanks-, God Tamer…I think?" I let out in confusion, as my jaw rang out with pain as I tried to talk.

"Aw, did the big strong bug hurt your mouth Tiso?" She asked in a mocking tone, as she put me down on the ground, still with her one arm around me.

"Shut up! I'm f-fi-OW-...agghh…" I grumbled, as I felt my mouth crack when I attempted to open it more.

She laughed at me some more, and I was about to interject again (or just, try) I saw the five mantises I had fought all walk towards me, all glaring at me as they did so. God Tamer noticed them too, and stopped her laughing, and let go of me. The five mantises all stood before us like before, except this time bruised and scarred, just like I was.

I began to sweat. What were they going to after I beat them in combat like that? Were they going to attack again? Get their leaders to hunt me down? I had no idea what they were going to do, but then, they did something I didn't expect.

They simply closed their eyes, sighed, and bowed to me. I looked to my side at God Tamer, who I saw lean down and bow too. I realised I should probably join her, so I didn't risk insulting the bugs.

So I did just that. I put my still bleeding arm on my chest, leaned over, and bowed.

We stood there for what was only a minute, before the five mantises, as well as God Tamer, all got up. I hadn't noticed at the time, so God Tamer had to quickly pull me up so I didn't stand there bowing forever.

Then, the mantises all turned, and walked away.

"Alright. That's enough training for tonight. You've earned your rest Tiso. Let's go." The other ant explained, as she turned in the opposite direction and jumped atop her pet.

I let out a sigh of relief as I wiped away the sweat, and almost felt like collapsing onto the floor from sheer exhaustion. I had been fighting non-stop all day and night, and my body pleaded me to just sleep right here. But, I thought it best to stay out of the mantis' territory after all of that. So, I walked over to God Tamer's pet, and began to climb o-

The creature let out a roar of anger, almost knocking off it's rider again, and stared at me with those disturbingly bright eyes.

"Wooaahh! It's ok big guy, the fool isn't going to hurt you again. RIGHT, Tiso?" She explained to it as she rubbed it's back, as I could tell she was glaring at me through the helmet.

I nodded like my life depended on it.

The creature let out a calmer, yet still anger filled growl at me, leading God Tamer to just sigh and get off of the beast.

"He's not letting you back on. Hopefully, just for tonight. Looks like we're all walking to the nearest bench in the wastes then." She told me as she walked to my side, carrying her nail that was bigger with both of us combined over her shoulder with just one hand.

I asked why she decided to walk with me rather than just riding her beast next to me, but she just said it needed a rest too. Which I guess was fair.

After walking and talking with God Tamer, we eventually arrived at a bench towards the right of the fungal wastes, after going around some more mantises, which didn't attack us, as they bowed to God Tamer.

I basically collapsed onto the bench, once we finally reached it. Every single cell in my body felt like it was going to shrivel up and die from exhaustion alone. God Tamer found me face planting onto the metal seat rather amusing. I couldn't quite tell if her laugh was a mocking one, or a cheerful giggle. Even if she was laughing at me, I was honest with her about her laugh earlier tonight. It's certainly very pleasant, and it's a laugh that at this point I can't help but smile at.

After lying down for a little while I realised that I should definitely repair my hood and bandage myself up, as I had completely forgotten about my battle damage on the way here. I sat up, as my hood once again began to droop over my face, I let out a sigh, and reached into my armor for a small needle and blue silk I always remembered to keep on me. So, I started stitching.

"You know it would be easier to do that if you took off that hood, fool." God Tamer pointed out. 

I stopped fumbling with the silk in my hands and looked to my left, where I saw my companion, sat down and leaning her back against her pet, as she sharpened her blade.

"Well, normally I would, but I usually take it off in...well...private." I admitted shyly, still fumbling with the needle and the silk as I looked up at my hood, avoiding eye contact.

"Ooooooooo, got something to hide under there Tiso? What is it? Or is there some kind of secret Geo stash in there or something?" The ant asked, her antennae perking upwards slightly in curiosity as she walked away from her snoring pet, and towards me.

I moved away from her on the bench, in case she were planning to rip off my hood or something. But, she just placed her nail on the side of the seat, next to my shield, and sat down with me. Still, I turned away ever so slightly.

"I'm not hiding anything." I told her, rather unconvincingly as I thread the silk through the needle for the first time since I started.

"Sure you are. Even if there's nothing secret in there, you are hiding your face." She told me, leaning back in the seat.

"So? What's so noteworthy about my face?" I questioned the bug, as I just began fumbling with the needle yet again.

"I bet you look as cute as you act." God Tamer said with a slight laugh, as I could practically feel her grin from beneath her helmet.

I froze and dropped the needle onto the ground, not knowing how to really respond.

"Well-, I-, w-why do you keep calling me that?" I asked as I quickly searched for the needle, picking it up only to drop it again.

God Tamer just laughed, bent down, and picked it up.

"Because it's true. Oh, here you go." She continued, handing my needle as I still tried fixing the hood on my head.

I felt my heart beat just a little faster. This bug had some, strange, unfamiliar effect on me. And why did I sort of, like it? No, that's not possible. I am the furthest thing from cute after all, I'm sure many fear me! I should be insulted! Outraged! I wanted to be furious right now, at this blatant mockery!...But, I wasn't. Maybe because it didn't feel like she said it as a way to berate me...or maybe it was because she said it, that somehow made it different? 

I shook my head in an attempt to escape the thoughts, which didn't help make stitching any easier.

"W-well, you can't know that. You haven't looked under here." I explained, finally finishing my hood, as it no longer drooped over my face, instead standing proud atop my head.

God Tamer shrugged, still looking at me from under her helmet.

"I suppose there's only one way to prove me wrong." She told me, speaking rather confidently, with a slight sing song tone in her voice.

We continued our back and forth like this, as the other ant got out some bandages to wrap around my arm. She took it upon herself to wrap them, as she inspected my injuries.

"Nice battle scars. I wonder how many I gave you." She thought out loud to herself in a taunting manner.

I let out a laugh at this, over dramatically rolling my eyes.

"Don't get your hopes up God Tamer, you only gave me a couple at most. The rest of them have been there quite a while, from the many battles I've fought in." I boasted, as a way to show off a little to my trainer.

God Tamer nodded her head slowly, looking into my eyes through the holes on her helmet.

"I believe that. But, how many of those battles did you actually win Tiso?" She inquired, as I began to sweat.

"All of them." I answered too quickly.

God Tamer just snickered at that, trying to stop herself from bursting out laughing.

"Tiso I KNOW that's not true. No warrior in their LIFE has never lost a battle, I've lost plenty. Losing is part of fighting. Just, don't do it too often. As in, win nine times out of ten. Heh, first order of training tomorrow, get that ego of yours in check." She explained, making me feel slightly bad for so blatantly lying to her.

However, I was admittedly quite offended when she suggested the idea of me having an inflated ego.

"Wait just a minute ant, I do absolutely NOT have a-,"

God Tamer tilted her head and antennae, in a way that disputed my claim without even speaking, and I stopped myself. There was a moment of silence before we next spoke.

"...fine. Maybe I, do...tend to over exaggerate here and there...about, myself. Perhaps...perhaps you're not wrong…" I said to her shyly, looking down at her feet on the ground.

"Thanks for your honesty Tiso." She thanked me, feeling the gratitude in her voice.

She continued to slowly wrap up parts of my left arm, almost deliberately slowly, as she shuffled on the bench, moving inches closer to me.

After another few minutes, I spoke up again.

"So, what's tomorrow's training going to be like then?" I questioned the bug, praying I wouldn't have to fight her again, as I had a feeling her pet might want some revenge after what I did to it today.

God Tamer began to laugh a little under her helmet, as if I were kidding for whatever reason.

"Heh, well, I'll save telling you what we do first for later tonight, but you're going to fight me again, to see how much you've improved after what I have planned before that. Then, we're going to end it off with swimming in the blue lake. It'll be a fun way to end off tomorrow's training session." She explained, enthusiastically. 

However, I was visibly not ok with this, as I felt myself tense up upon hearing I had to fight her again, as I looked over at the snoring behemoth God Tamer called a pet. I also began pondering if I even knew how to swim, which didn't help my hesitance.

However, I didn't voice my concerns. Mainly because I didn't want to seem like some kind of coward, too afraid to fight her a second time, when in reality, it was the beast that scared me. And as for the swimming part...I'm sure it's not THAT difficult to learn? How hard can it be? I've never really needed to swim before, as I just went around that boring lake on foot when heading to the colosseum for the first time. Still, I'm sure learning will be a breeze! I'd just, copy her. Easy.

After she finished tending to my injuries, she slowly moved away from me, as her antennae began to droop a little lower, before deciding we should both get to sleep. Now that is a decision I was fully in favour of.

God Tamer stood up from the bench and walked over to the gigantic sleeping bug she had tamed. I was wondering what exactly she was doing, when she stuck her hand INSIDE one of the crevices in the creature's shell. I was...a mixture of confused and horrified, as the bug somehow didn't react to this. After a little while of what appeared to be searching around in there with her arm, the God Tamer pulled out a large, moist cloth, and began to head back over to me, holding it towards me.

"Here you go Tiso, a blanket. These wastes can get awfully cold at night. I usually use this blanket myself when I'm sleeping outdoors, yet, you'll be needing it tonight." She explained, holding the cloth in front of me.

I pushed her hand back however, shaking my head.

"Many thanks God Tamer, but I'm going to have to decline. I can't have you being cold out here, my hood keeps my head warm anyway, I'll be fine." I said to her, hoping she would just accept the rather putrid looking cloth.

God Tamer shook her head this time, shoving it in my hands.

"Not happening, you're having it. The fungal wastes get surprisingly cold at night, you're having it. End of story, fool." She explained to me, rather sure of herself as she stepped away from me and folded her arms, so I couldn't give it back so easily.

I was about to offer a rebuttal, before stopping myself, as I realised it would be fruitless. However, I still didn't want her being cold, if what she said was true, which it more than likely was.

"Well…I'm still not ok with you going to sleep without something to keep you warm. This is your only blanket, right?" I questioned her, as I had been assuming it was this whole time.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just stay warm next to my pet." She dismissed me, showing I was correct in my assumption.

She began to walk towards her creature, when I looked down at the blanket, realising it was quite...large...hm…

"Wait, God Tamer. How about...maybe, sharing the blanket?" I offered, holding it out in front of me.

God Tamer's antennae shot up the second I finished talking, as she turned towards me rather quickly.

"W-, wait, that would mean, sleeping next to you. And, I mean it's not like I wouldn't want to do that it's just um...what if y-you get hurt by hitting your eye against the sharp p-part of my helmet." God Tamer told me, rubbing the back of her neck as her antennae stood up further than I'd ever seen them go.

"You wear your helmet as you sleep?" I questioned her, scratching my head.

She shook her head quickly, seeming a lot more sporadic and flustered than I'd ever thought she could be.

"No no of course not. Not, usually. I just...usually take it off in private." She explained rather quickly, looking away from me.

I began to ponder exactly why this was. I mean, why would someone only take off their helmet in private? The only reason someone would do that would be if-...then, a smug expression crossed my face, as I moved closer to the other ant.

"Hmmmm, in private? Don't tell me, that the great God Tamer is AFRAID of merley showing her face? That's cra-," 

She then took a step towards me, and wrapped her hand around the top of my hood, and began to pull it upwards.

"G-GET OFF MY HOOD YOU-," I began, slapping her hand away, as she burst out laughing. 

I folded my arms and looked away as she continued to laugh, still clutching the blanket as I began to feel myself turn red in embarrassment.

"Well now, it seems the mighty warrior Tiso, doesn't like showing his face himself, hm? Why, I thought he was courageous!" She smugly taunted, as I rolled my eyes and buried my head in my hood.

"Alright alright, I'm sorry, there. We're even God Tamer, you can cease your laughing." I told her, in an attempt to be confident, yet only coming off more embarrassed in my tone.

God Tamer stopped her teasing and just went back to giggling, standing closer to me now, and grabbing the blanket.

"Hehe, fine. I'd say we should rest up for tomorrow then. It's clear we've had our fun for today." She explained, tilting her head in a playful manner.

I agreed, and it didn't take us much longer to find somewhere somewhat comfortable to lie down on the mushroom floor, and attempt to get some rest. Sleeping in my armour I doubted would be a very pleasant experience, and the fact God Tamer had her helmet on probably made her own a lot less bearable than mine. 

I lay there, staring up at the fungus filled ceiling, with the other ant by my side, and despite the discomfort I felt from my armour...I feel like the fact she was there, made it just slightly better.

"You sure you don't want to take off that helmet? I won't look at you if you do." I explained, in an attempt to hopefully make her be able to get to sleep more easily. 

God Tamer didn't respond immediately, instead, just letting out a muffled yawn, which appeared to be the one of the only sounds I could hear at this hour. The only ones accompanying it just being the distant bubbling of acidic water in the distance.

"Do not worry Tiso, I'm fine, really. I actually think I'll sleep great tonight. To be honest, I've been having a lot of, strange, bad dreams recently, but I think...things will be better tonight, out here..." She explained, sighing, as I looked over to her and saw the ant's antennae dropping downwards, clearly just as exhausted as I was, which was only clear now she let herself relax.

"Why's that?" I ask with curiosity, as she turns towards me, shifting on top of the mushrooms we lay on.

"Oh no reason," suddenly, I felt a soft grip on my hand beneath the blanket, as God Tamer continued, "just, a feeling."

**Author's Note:**

> Heya everyone! I hope you liked the first part of a new series I'm writing, focusing on Tiso and God Tamer! It's gonna be a story with a lot of combat, and even more of Tiso and God Tamer being...Well, I wouldn't want to spoil anything ;)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, and have a good one ^^


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